Baptist News Global

Review of research underscores harms of conversion therapy and importance of family affirmation

So-called “conversion therapy” or “reparative therapy” for children and teens within the LGBTQ community is “harmful and should never be provided,” according to new research released by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The terms refer to…

Tom Ascol has the wrong apostates in mind

In a recent article titled “Some Will Apostatize,” Tom Ascol breathes fire and brimstone over those he is certain will desert the Christian faith as he defines it. 1 Timothy 4:1 seems to be the text of his sermonic outburst:…

Americans United takes a different view on today’s Supreme Court hearing about religious accommodation by employers

Americans United for Separation of Church and State has taken a different approach to a U.S. Supreme Court hearing today than its frequent ally, Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty. In the case of Groff v. DeJoy, BJC joined the…

Charles Marsh has a story to tell of evangelical anxiety

Charles Marsh knows something about evangelical anxiety. He grew up in the middle of it as the son of one of the most prominent pastors in the Southern Baptist Convention. The SBC of Marsh’s childhood was the racially tinged Mississippi…

Going out for coffee and finding nourishment instead

“I’ve got to get out of this office.” I don’t know if I say these words aloud or if they’re just in my head, but on cue, I push away from a computer screen I’ve been staring at too much…

Young BIPOC have not abandoned religious belief, new study finds

Contrary to popular opinion, young people of color have not abandoned religious belief and in fact are praying, meditating, reading Scripture and building sacred fellowship on their own terms, youth ministry expert Megan DeWald said. This reality escapes or frightens…

What do we do when the thrill is gone?

For a Valentine’s Day episode of This American Life, they told love stories, but not the usual kind. One was a quirky little tale about a couple, Richard and Linda, who had been married nine years and had two kids….

Dear Tennessee legislators: You are driving people away from faith

Dear Tennessee representatives who voted to expel two of the Tennessee Three: I know most of you profess Christianity. I hope you and yours had a joyous Easter. I wish our state could have. Alas, the venomous viper of power…

The other epidemic: Fear

The more I read the news, the more I become convinced there’s another epidemic currently facing the nation. It seems to be particularly acute in churches right now, too. And while it’s an epidemic largely of our own making, it…

The Devil’s tool

When I was the age of my grandson Sam, I was enamored with the song “Ya Got Trouble” from the musical The Music Man. I even memorized it and performed it once or twice for some gatherings. It clearly did not…

Jemar Tisby will headline BNG event at CBF General Assembly

Historian and author Jemar Tisby will be the featured speaker at this year’s Baptist News Global gathering during the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly. Tisby is a New York Times bestselling author, public historian and professor at Simmons College of…

I’m about to be a Pandemic University graduate; here’s what that means

In May 2021, Bo Burnham released the Netflix special Inside, a film self-created by Burnham during the COVID-19 pandemic quarantine. The film includes music and skits that cover an array of topics, including the psychological deterioration Burnham and many others…

‘Be careful of Scripture heavy in law but light on grace,’ Wesley warns

‘Show up and do something,’ ACLU leader urges

From the South Side to the South Lawn and back again

Democracy as a moral practice, not just a system